The Spirit of a Pirate

I just finished reading the Vanity Fair article on Johnny Depp. It talked about a trip he took with a journalist friend and a few others to spend some time both aboard his boat, the Vajoliroja and on his 45 acre private Bahamian island. They spent days of reading, listening to good music, and eating great food. This is where Depp decompresses between acting and publicity gigs. Money to purchase both came mostly from his stint as Captain Jack. He wears a near identical tattoo on one of his arms as his alter ego wore, a sparrow flying over waves. Above his boat flies a jolly roger. Both serve as reminders of a spirit that he embraces. The spirit of the pirate isn't to be found on board his boat, nor is it to be found lounging on the sands of his island. The spirit of the pirate that Depp seems to embrace is found in the nature of his work and the way he has decided to NOT embrace most of the day to day business that surrounds it. He informs the parts he plays both with research, but also with his own Bohemian spirit.

When I finish this particular blog posting, I will, as usual, post a link on Twitter. Twitter seems to be something of a double edged sword when it comes to embracing the pirate spirit. Everyday I get a note saying someone has signed on to follow me on Twitter. Most of these requests come from individuals and companies that did a search under the word "wedding" and then requested to follow every person that came up. When a person of a piratical sort requests to follow me, I am thrilled, because I feel that maybe the actually looked at the content I'm posting and found something interesting. But I also say yes to many of the "wedding" searchers as well. My hope, is that maybe one or two of them will be moved to attempt to become more inclusive. I hope they can not only seek to provide goods for the women that desire "her day" as a princess, but also that they will seek to provide goods and services to those that seek a more alternative wedding.

What then is the Spirit of the Pirate about which I am speaking? It's the spirit that encourages people to make their own way. Seek the inner spirit that is uniquely them, and bring it out in all they do, including how they get married. It's not about finding the most expensive designer dress, or making sure your cake is the tallest. There will ALWAYS be a fancier dress, a larger cake. It's not about living a life that others will look at and approve or not, it's about finding our own compass and sailing a course set by our inner life, using our heart as our rudder. Johnny Depp seems to be doing this, and oddly, his most commercial success, Pirates of the Caribbean, was about a pirate making his own way.